Hexagram 63, line 5
九五Line 5 of Already Crossed
Nine in the fifth place · 既濟 jì jì
爻辭 The line text
東鄰殺牛，不如西鄰之禴祭，實受其福。The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject (as) the neighbour in the east who slaughters an ox (for his sacrifice); but this is not equal to the (small) spring sacrifice of the neighbour in the west, whose sincerity receives the blessing.
東鄰殺牛，不如西鄰之時也；實受其福，吉大來也。'The slaughtering of an ox by the neighbour in the east is not equal to (the small sacrifice of) the neighbour in the west:'—because the time (in the latter case is more important and fit). 'His sincerity receives the blessing:'—good fortune comes on a great scale.
In plain words
Line five is the ruler of Ji Ji, strong in the central and correct place of the water, at the full height of a completed order. Its text sets two sacrifices side by side: 'the eastern neighbour slaughters an ox' — the great, expensive rite — 'but is not equal to the western neighbour's small summer offering, whose sincerity truly receives the blessing'. The eastern neighbour is this line, with everything to give; the western neighbour is its correspondent, the modest line two. The small Image explains that the difference is one of time (時): at the peak, lavishness adds nothing, while the sincere small act, made when it is needed, brings 'great good fortune coming'. This is the ruler's lesson at the top of success.
If this line is changing
At the height of what you have built, a grand gesture adds nothing; the small act done sincerely and at the right moment is what still reaches people.
Where the line stands
- A solid line, yang — written 九 (nine), the number of an old yang line that moves when cast.
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
- It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 坎 Kan (the Abysmal) (water).
- It corresponds (應) with line 2: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
既濟 Already Crossed becomes ䷣ 36 明夷 Brightness Hidden
The sun sunk under the earth: the light wounded. In dark times it is favourable to persevere — hide your brilliance, as the ancient sage did under a tyrant.
What it becomes36 · 明夷 Brightness Hiddenmíng yíThe six lines of 既濟 Already Crossed
- 初九Nine at the beginningbraking the wheel · wet tail · restraint at the start
- 六二Six in the second placelost carriage screen · do not chase · seven days
- 九三Nine in the third placethe long campaign · three years · exhaustion
- 六四Six in the fourth placerags for the leak · all-day vigilance · doubt
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeeast and west neighbours · the lavish and the sincere · timing
- 上六Six at the tophead under water · peril · cannot last
Read 既濟 Already Crossed for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Nine in the fifth place of hexagram 63, Already Crossed, mean?
- Line five is the ruler of Ji Ji, strong in the central and correct place of the water, at the full height of a completed order. Its text sets two sacrifices side by side: 'the eastern neighbour slaughters an ox' — the great, expensive rite — 'but is not equal to the western neighbour's small summer offering, whose sincerity truly receives the blessing'. The eastern neighbour is this line, with everything to give; the western neighbour is its correspondent, the modest line two. The small Image explains that the difference is one of time (時): at the peak, lavishness adds nothing, while the sincere small act, made when it is needed, brings 'great good fortune coming'. This is the ruler's lesson at the top of success.
- What does hexagram 63 become when line 5 changes?
- Already Crossed becomes hexagram 36, 明夷 Brightness Hidden: The sun sunk under the earth: the light wounded. In dark times it is favourable to persevere — hide your brilliance, as the ancient sage did under a tyrant.
- Is line 5 of Already Crossed in its correct place?
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).